


Let’s Watch the Sun Rise

by mintaeroandmerlin



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bad Dad Uther, M/M, Merthur - Freeform, Soulmate AU, Stupid Uther, Ugh, You and your soulmate watch the sunset or sunrise at the same time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 01:30:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16734462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mintaeroandmerlin/pseuds/mintaeroandmerlin
Summary: Merlin was watching the sunrise. He always loved to go outside his little house and watch the sun rise over the hilltops in his village. His best friend Will always teased him about it mercilessly, but Merlin didn't care if Will thought that it was girly of him. He wondered if he had a soulmate out there, looking at the same thing from somewhere far away.Arthur always watched the sunrise from his window. He longed to go outside, to feel the morning breeze on his skin. But since he was the crown prince, the most he could ever do was look outside from the safety of his chambers.AKA a soulmate AU where if you have the urge to see the sunrise or sunset, your soulmate feels it too (something I saw on tumblr).





	Let’s Watch the Sun Rise

    Merlin was watching the sunrise. He always loved to go outside his little house and watch the sun rise over the hilltops in his village. His best friend Will always teased him about it mercilessly, but Merlin didn't care if Will thought that it was girly of him. He wondered if he had a soulmate out there, looking at the same thing from somewhere far away. Sunrises are beautiful, especially in the winter time. All of the snow covering the ground made it even more dazzling. Snow reminded Merlin of his father, Balinor. He had died when Merlin was only thirteen summers. Balinor had been gathering herbs before the frost was fully upon them, when Uther's men had ridden up and shot him through with a crossbow. Merlin hadn't known why at the time, but when his powers started to arise, he figured that Balinor had magic too, and that's why he was killed. Merlin still would never really forgive Camelot's king for taking away his father.  
    Once the sun had risen to its full beauty and heat, he heard his mother call him inside.  
    "Merlin! You have chores to do!" Hunith yelled for her son.  
    "Coming, mother!" Merlin yelled back, as he stood, he looked out over the hill he had been sitting on. Ealdor was beautiful in the mornings, before the hustle and bustle tainted the village with the worries of money or food and materialistic things.  
    Merlin walked back to the house and saw a list of chores from his mother. They was regular things like mucking the neighbors stalls, and handing out the town's medicines. Merlin was Ealdor's acting physician, since Balinor had taught him from a young age. Balinor had been trained by the palace physician, so Merlin's knowledge was pretty credible. After Merlin had concocted the various potions and poultices, he looked on the house list so that he knew who got what. Merlin spent the majority of his day checking out the town's different ailments, and treating what he could with the meager supplies Ealdor could afford. Sometimes Merlin went on trips to Camelot to get herbs and different remedies, but not very often. He hated going into Camelot, because of the bad memories that haunted the place. Specifically, Merlin hated (and he didn't throw that word around very often) the King of Camelot with a passion. He hadn't heard much of the young prince, but from what he had gathered from village gossip, Arthur was as much of a royal arse as Uther. That made Merlin quite sad actually, because he had always hoped for a peaceful king in Camelot. Maybe there was hope for Arthur yet.  
==============================  
    Arthur always watched the sunrise from his window. He longed to go outside, to feel the morning breeze on his skin. But since he was the crown prince, the most he could ever do was look outside from the safety of his chambers. He loved looking at the towers of the castle and the outer town. As a child, he had always tried to go outside and play with the village children. His father didn't approve, of course, so Arthur had been reprimanded and told to never go to the lower towns again. Arthur still tried every chance he got to visit the other children, but a couple nights locked in his mother's dark and empty chambers had kicked his habit. He hated that punishment. As if Arthur needed a reminder that he was the reason his father hated everything. As if he needed a reminder that he had killed his own mother. And the dust gathering in the dark and horrible room had gotten to the point where it had been even harder to breathe the air than see anything. Arthur had wanted more than anything to stop getting locked in that room, so he stopped trying to play with the other children.  
    Arthur continued to watch the glowing sun reach the peak of the sky, feeling content. He never really considered all of the rumors about the sun rising and setting and soulmates. The myth was that whenever you want to see the sunrise or sunset, your soulmate is somewhere doing the same thing. These stolen sunrises each morning were really the only things he looked forward to during the day. The rest of the hours were filled with boring meetings and knights training. The training was okay, at least it was physical. Something Arthur could feel. He hated not being able to have some sort of control or opinion. That was exactly why he hated the meetings. No one ever listened to his ideas, and they always looked only to Uther for an opinion. Arthur was only there as a formality. He had hoped that once he got older, his father might actually listen, but he had been foolish to even dream of such a day.  
    The golden haired prince rose off of his chair, light glistening like a halo around him. He had a big day to get ready for. It was the annual ball at Camelot. People from all towns and kingdoms were invited to celebrate the time of peace at the royal castle of Camelot. It was actually one of Arthur's favorite days of the year, because he actually got to meet real people. Most weren't nobility, so they usually weren't stuck up or sucking up to Arthur for favors at court. He enjoyed hearing about the people's concerns about the kingdom. He only wished Uther would listen to his suggestions every once and a while.  
    Arthur had never had a proper personal servant. His early morning gazes made it less of a hassle than making a servant wake him up and do all of the things Arthur would've already done. That was the one thing his father approved of. More servants for Uther to boss around, not wasted on his son. Arthur sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He really needed a haircut. He got his clothes ready for training and meetings, and then set aside his fancier clothing for the ball. Not that he was much of a romantic, and not that his father cared about his love life, but he had a pretty good feeling that he might meet someone tonight. As for his father, Uther only cared about whether Arthur would have any sort of heir. Illegitimate or blood related, his father did not care. For all Uther wished, he'd stay on the throne until Arthur withered away. His father was increasingly protective of his throne and power.  
    Arthur trained with his swoard and knights for hours, and went to Gaius for his studies. Gaius was teaching him all about herbs and anything he might need to know in battle. If one of his knights was badly wounded, Arthur wanted to know if there was anything he could do to help at the moment of injury. His father only allowed it because he thought that it might be useful in order to have his knights to be in tip top shape.  
    "And this is called garlic. You can only use it raw, and it has antibacterial properties." Gaius explained. "This isn't battlefield knowledge, but it can also be useful for respiratory issues."  
    "Interesting.." Arthur replied, thoroughly inspecting his shirt ties.  
    "It's obvious that you're distracted. Why don't you go moon over that ball tonight and we'll call your lessons complete for the day." Gaius said with a smirk.  
    "Really Gaius? Thank you!" Arthur said, grinning like a little kid. He skipped off to his chambers, thinking of what lovely man or woman he might meet tonight.  
==============================  
    "You should go to that ball tonight, Merls." Will said, walking home with Merlin after a long day of Will working at the markets in Camelot.  
    "What makes you think I want to be in the same room as Uther?" Merlin asked, an eyebrow raised skeptically.  
    "I'm just thinking it might be good for you to see that people in Camelot aren't all bad." Will said. "Maybe the nobles aren't all great, but the townspeople are wonderful. They're most likely all going to this ball tonight." Will said, poking Merlin in the side and grinning. "I think Ealdor can do without their physician for one night." He said.  
    "Ugh, Will. You always know how to win me over with your ridiculous plans. I'll think about it." Merlin said, grinning at his friend. Will pumped his fist in the air in victory.  
    "Finally! Merls is finally going to have some fun!" Will yelled to the entire village. Of course, there were a few cheers from the group that made Merlin laugh.  
    Once Will left, Merlin set about deciding which clothes to wear to this ball.  
    "Where are you going looking like that?" Hunith asked with a smile, gesturing to Merlin's outfit. He had chosen a dark blue shirt of his nicest material (it showed off his eyes quite nicely), and a pair of dark breeches with black boots. He'd decided to actually wash his hair, so it hung around his ears in soft ebony curls.  
    "The Camelot ball, actually." Merlin said with a sheepish shrug. "Decided it was time." He admitted, shuffling his feet.  
    "Your father would be proud, Merlin. Show that royal arse that Balinor's son is the pride of Ealdor." Hunith said softly, ruffling Merlin's hair before pulling him in a hug. "I'm glad you're going out. Have fun!" She yelled as he walked out of the door. He rolled his eyes playfully at his mother before skipping dramatically towards the Newans's horse stables. They were nice about letting him borrow the horses because he mucked out their stables daily.  
    He rode to Camelot faster than he thought was possible, and arrived as others were flooding through the castle gates. Merlin was nervous, if he was being quite honest. He hadn't been to the palace before, and it was even more intimidating than seeing it from the lower towns. Merlin was still excited, there were so many people to meet and see! He briefly wondered if he would see the prince, but he wasn't sure he'd like to.  After hearing so much gossip, he was intrigued as to how Arthur might actually act.  
Merlin's gaze flowed through the room. He was searching, but he didn't notice, of course. For one mop of blond hair and shining blue eyes that he didn't know he wanted. His deeper blue eyes finally caught Arthur's sky colored ones. Merlin didn't even notice that Arthur was making his way towards him when Arthur spoke.  
"So, what're you looking for?" Arthur asked, sipping his drink.  
"Nothing specific. You?" Merlin asked nonchalantly. Arthur laughed softly.  
"You know. The usual, a life partner who would be a good king or queen, and someone I actually like." He raised his eyebrows in emphasis. "You know anyone of that sort?" Arthur asked with a playful glint in his eye. He doesn't seem so bad at all, he's actually kind of handsome and funny, Merlin thought. He cursed himself for thinking it when he blushed and ducked his head to hide it.  
"Not exactly, sorry." Merlin said, still trying to hide his face. "You're actually not an arse. I'll say, I'm impressed." Merlin laughed.  
"Who, me? A royal arse? That's preposterous!" Arthur laughed and tried to look offended. "I'll let you in on a secret. They're actually all arses." He whispered, leaning in to Merlin. Merlin tried not to blush again.  
"Wow, I'd never have guessed." Merlin said. "What do you say we go outside and get some fresh air? All of this nobility is giving me a stress rash." He made a disgusted face. Arthur thought he was comical, and also unbearably adorable. For the first time, he wondered if he could be talking to his soulmate.  
"I couldn't agree more." Arthur said, taking the other boy's hand and leading Merlin outdoors to the gardens. He stopped abruptly upon seeing the sunset. Most would probably ignore it, but Merlin stared along with him. "It's beautiful." Arthur whispered.  
"You think so? My friend always teases me because I like to watch the sun rise every morning." Merlin laughed. "It's become a sort of habit now."  
"Wait, you do that too?" Arthur looked bewildered. "I watch it each day." He said.  
"Yeah, what's so special about..... Oh." Merlin finally understood what this could mean. "You mean. You, and I? Soulmates? The prince of Camelot, and me?" Merlin grabbed his hand away and ran it through his hair suddenly. He had never thought that him having a soulmate was actually possible. Most people met their soulmates in their childhood.  
"Didn't realize it was such a horrid thing to be my soulmate." Arthur said, voice breaking a little bit.  
"No, it's not that. It's just... kind of weird. Your father. He killed my father when I was a boy." Merlin said, eyes fixed on the ground below him.  
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Trust me, my father is less than honorable at times." Arthur said softly, placing a hand on Merlin's shoulder to try and comfort him at least a little bit. "I'm sorry you lost your father. I never met my mother. People tell me she was fair and incredibly kind." Arthur confessed. "I hope I turn out to be more like her."  
Merlin turned to face him then. "I don't doubt that you will. I like you already, and I just met you." He laughed. "So, us. Soulmates. Wow." He smiled, and he found that he couldn't stop. Merlin had finally found his soulmate. And it was none other than the prince.  
"Yeah. Wow." Arthur said, smiling as well. They sat on one of the seats outdoors, and Arthur put his head on Merlin's shoulder (because the lanky boy was approximately two inches taller, infuriatingly). He sighed happily, and looked up to see Merlin smiling back at him cheekily. Arthur found himself leaning up into Merlin's smile, and saw that the other boy was not backing away. In fact, Merlin was leaning in as well. Merlin and Arthur closed their eyes and let their lips touch in a light kiss. They didn't feel any sudden fireworks, only a sure feeling that this is what they were meant to be doing all along.  
"So, what are we going to do?" Merlin asked after pulling away from the warmth of Arthur's lips.  
"Well, you're going to be my queen. Obviously." Arthur smirked at Merlin.  
"Don't you mean king?" Merlin asked.  
"Nope. I definitely mean queen. Seem more of a queeny type." Arthur said jokingly.  
"We'll see about that." Merlin said, tackling Arthur to the ground. Of course, he was no match for the prince, who held his arms on either side of Merlin's face.  
"You were saying?" Arthur said, face inches away from Merlin's. Merlin rolled his eyes.  
"Just shut up and kiss me already, clotpole." And kiss him Arthur did. Again, and again, and again.

 

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! pls comment or leave kudos if you’d like to read more of my less than appealing writing!


End file.
